Laura and Matt (right) Nelson embrace after reaching the end of the Gunflint Trail following an evacuation from Quetico. Photo by Joe Friedrichs
Airplane Evacuation Helps Family Escape Wildfires in Quetico
By Joe Friedrichs
The Nelson family have been paddling in Quetico for decades. Three generations of canoe-campers have now entered the park, most often through Cache Bay, the southeastern entrance near the end of the Gunflint Trail. Siblings Matt and Laura led a group of six into the park in mid-July 2026.
The group included Matt and his daughter, and Laura and her three children. Wildfires were burning in Quetico and the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness leading up to their trip, which started July 11.
By the afternoon of July 13, excessive heat and strong winds dramatically increased the size of the wildfires in Quetico and the BWCA. The Nelsons, paddling on Kawnipi Lake, became surrounded by wildfire. They needed help.
This is their story.
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